What is Monarch Mcp Server

The monarch-mcp-server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed for integration with the Monarch Money personal finance platform, providing access to financial accounts, transactions, budgets, and analytics through Claude Desktop.

Use cases

Use cases include tracking personal expenses, managing budgets, analyzing financial trends, and integrating financial data into applications for enhanced user experience.

How to use

To use the monarch-mcp-server, clone the repository, install dependencies, configure Claude Desktop with the appropriate settings, and perform a one-time authentication setup via the terminal.

Key features

Key features include seamless integration with Monarch Money, full multi-factor authentication (MFA) support, and easy configuration with Claude Desktop for accessing financial data.

Where to use

The monarch-mcp-server is primarily used in personal finance management, allowing users to manage their financial accounts and analytics efficiently.

Monarch Money MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for integrating with the Monarch Money personal finance platform. This server provides seamless access to your financial accounts, transactions, budgets, and analytics through Claude Desktop.

My MonarchMoney referral: https://www.monarchmoney.com/referral/ufmn0r83yf?r_source=share

Built with the MonarchMoney Python library by @hammem - A fantastic unofficial API for Monarch Money with full MFA support.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/robcerda/monarch-mcp-server.git
   cd monarch-mcp-server
   

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   pip install -e .
   

3. Configure Claude Desktop:
   Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

   macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "Monarch Money": {
         "command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/uv",
         "args": [
           "run",
           "--with",
           "mcp[cli]",
           "--with-editable",
           "/path/to/your/monarch-mcp-server",
           "mcp",
           "run",
           "/path/to/your/monarch-mcp-server/src/monarch_mcp_server/server.py"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

   Important: Replace /path/to/your/monarch-mcp-server with your actual path!

4. Restart Claude Desktop

2. One-Time Authentication Setup

Important: For security and MFA support, authentication is done outside of Claude Desktop.

Open Terminal and run:

cd /path/to/your/monarch-mcp-server
python login_setup.py

Follow the prompts:

• Enter your Monarch Money email and password
• Provide 2FA code if you have MFA enabled
• Session will be saved automatically

3. Start Using in Claude Desktop

Once authenticated, use these tools directly in Claude Desktop:

• get_accounts - View all your financial accounts
• get_transactions - Recent transactions with filtering
• get_budgets - Budget information and spending
• get_cashflow - Income/expense analysis

✨ Features

📊 Account Management

• Get Accounts: View all linked financial accounts with balances and institution info
• Get Account Holdings: See securities and investments in investment accounts
• Refresh Accounts: Request real-time data updates from financial institutions

💰 Transaction Access

• Get Transactions: Fetch transaction data with filtering by date, account, and pagination
• Create Transaction: Add new transactions to accounts
• Update Transaction: Modify existing transactions (amount, description, category, date)

📈 Financial Analysis

• Get Budgets: Access budget information including spent amounts and remaining balances
• Get Cashflow: Analyze financial cashflow over specified date ranges with income/expense breakdowns

🔐 Secure Authentication

• One-Time Setup: Authenticate once, use for weeks/months
• MFA Support: Full support for two-factor authentication
• Session Persistence: No need to re-authenticate frequently
• Secure: Credentials never pass through Claude Desktop

🛠️ Available Tools

Tool	Description	Parameters
setup_authentication	Get setup instructions	None
check_auth_status	Check authentication status	None
get_accounts	Get all financial accounts	None
get_transactions	Get transactions with filtering	limit, offset, start_date, end_date, account_id
get_budgets	Get budget information	None
get_cashflow	Get cashflow analysis	start_date, end_date
get_account_holdings	Get investment holdings	account_id
create_transaction	Create new transaction	account_id, amount, description, date, category_id, merchant_name
update_transaction	Update existing transaction	transaction_id, amount, description, category_id, date
refresh_accounts	Request account data refresh	None

📝 Usage Examples

View Your Accounts

Use get_accounts to show me all my financial accounts

Get Recent Transactions

Show me my last 50 transactions using get_transactions with limit 50

Check Spending vs Budget

Use get_budgets to show my current budget status

Analyze Cash Flow

Get my cashflow for the last 3 months using get_cashflow

📅 Date Formats

• All dates should be in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g., “2024-01-15”)
• Transaction amounts: positive for income, negative for expenses

🔧 Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

If you see “Authentication needed” errors:

1. Run the setup command: cd /path/to/your/monarch-mcp-server && python login_setup.py
2. Restart Claude Desktop
3. Try using a tool like get_accounts

Session Expired

Sessions last for weeks, but if expired:

1. Run the same setup command again
2. Enter your credentials and 2FA code
3. Session will be refreshed automatically

Common Error Messages

• “No valid session found”: Run login_setup.py
• “Invalid account ID”: Use get_accounts to see valid account IDs
• “Date format error”: Use YYYY-MM-DD format for dates

🏗️ Technical Details

Project Structure

monarch-mcp-server/
├── src/monarch_mcp_server/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── server.py          # Main server implementation
├── login_setup.py         # Authentication setup script
├── pyproject.toml         # Project configuration
├── requirements.txt       # Dependencies
└── README.md             # This documentation

Session Management

• Sessions are stored securely in .mm/mm_session.pickle
• Automatic session discovery and loading
• Sessions persist across Claude Desktop restarts
• No need for frequent re-authentication

Security Features

• Credentials never transmitted through Claude Desktop
• MFA/2FA fully supported
• Session files are encrypted
• Authentication handled in secure terminal environment

🙏 Acknowledgments

This MCP server is built on top of the excellent MonarchMoney Python library created by @hammem. Their library provides the robust foundation that makes this integration possible, including:

• Secure authentication with MFA support
• Comprehensive API coverage for Monarch Money
• Session management and persistence
• Well-documented and maintained codebase

Thank you to @hammem for creating and maintaining this essential library!

📄 License

MIT License

🆘 Support

For issues:

1. Check authentication with check_auth_status
2. Run the setup command again: cd /path/to/your/monarch-mcp-server && python login_setup.py
3. Check error logs for detailed messages
4. Ensure Monarch Money service is accessible

🔄 Updates

To update the server:

1. Pull latest changes from repository
2. Restart Claude Desktop
3. Re-run authentication if needed: python login_setup.py